1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to information processing apparatuses and methods, and provision media therefor. In particular, the present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method in which an information processing apparatus updates data stored in another information processing apparatus connected to a network by transmitting data via the network, and to a provision medium for the information processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
When software of a server (e.g., audio-visual (AV) server) is updated, or new software is installed in an AV server, a person who updates software ordinarily uses a read only memory (ROM) writer to write updating-software data in a ROM (e.g., flash memory), and goes to a place where the AV server is located in order to exchange the ROM of the AV server for the updated ROM.
Referring to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9, a process for updating software by using the ROM writer is described below.
In step S31, the person creates software for updating. In step S32, the person uses a ROM writer to write the created software in a ROM. In step S33, the person goes to a place where an AV server is located, and exchanges the ROM of the AV server for the ROM obtained in step S32. Using steps S31 to S33, the person can update the software of the AV server.
In another process for updating software, as shown in is FIG. 10, a person who performs updating installs updating software beforehand in a personal computer (or a workstation) 1 or the like, and moves the personal computer 1 to a place where an AV server 3 is located. The person connects the personal computer 1 and the AV server 3 by a serial line 2 (e.g., the RS232C interface), and installs the updating software from the personal computer 1 into the AV server 3.
Referring to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11, a process for updating software in the case where the personal computer 1 and the AV server 3 are connected by the serial line 2 is described below.
In step S41, the person creates updating software, and installs it in the personal computer 1. In step S42, the person moves the personal computer 1, in which the software created in step S41 is installed, to a place where the AV server 3 is located, and directly connects the personal computer 1 and the AV server 3 by the serial line 2.
In step S43, the person operates the personal computer 1 to transmit the data of the software installed in the personal computer 1 in step S42 to the AV server 3 via the serial line 2. In step S44, the AV server 3 writes the software data received from the personal computer 1 in a flash memory built into the AV server 3. Using steps S41 to S43, the person can update the software of the AV server 3.
In the above-described processes, unless the person goes to the place where the AV server 3 is located, the software of the AV server 3 cannot be updated. In addition, when the personal computer 1 is located far from the AV server 3, and the software of the AV server 3 is updated from the personal computer 1 by connecting the personal computer 1 and the AV server 3 to an Ethernet connection instead for the serial line 2, a problem occurs in that the firewall of the Ethernet connection blocks data transfer to make it impossible to update the software because a transfer protocol for the software of the AV server 3 is for a single use.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus and method that easily updates software of a physically far information processing apparatus by using a network to transfer updating software to the far information processing apparatus, and to provide a provision medium for the information processing apparatus and method.
To this end, according to an aspect of the present invention, the foregoing object is achieved through provision of an information processing apparatus including a data recorder-reproducer including a nonlinearly accessible recording medium and a plurality of input/output processing means for recording, on the recording medium, first data including externally input video and/or audio data by accessing the recording medium in time slots assigned when the first data are input and for processing and outputting reproduced data to the exterior by accessing the recording medium in the time slots; and an information controller including a first storage means for storing second data controlling the data recorder-reproducer, the information controller connected to the data recorder-reproducer via a communication network, and a first control means performs control so that the second data stored in the first storage means are transferred based on a file transfer protocol to the data recorder-reproducer via the communication network. The data recorder-reproducer includes a second storage means for storing the second data transferred from the information controller, and a second control means for assigning each time slot to each input/output processing means and for controlling based on the second data stored in the second storage means the input/output processing means.
Preferably, the second control means controls each input/output processing means to record the first data on the nonlinearly accessible recording medium, and controls each input/output processing means to reproduce the first data recorded on the recording medium.
The nonlinearly accessible recording medium may be a redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) in which a plurality of hard disk drives including a plurality of hard disks are arranged in parallel.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the foregoing object is achieved through provision of a data transfer method for an information processing apparatus including a data recorder-reproducer for recording and/or reproducing first data including video and/or audio data by accessing a nonlinearly accessible recording medium in time slots to which a plurality of input/output means are assigned, and an information controller for storing second data controlling the data recorder-reproducer which is connected to the data recorder-reproducer via a communication network. The data transfer method includes a first step for transferring based on a file transfer protocol the second data stored in the information controller to the data recorder-reproducer via the communication network, a second step for storing the second data transferred in the first step in the data recorder-reproducer, and a third step for controlling based on the second data stored in the second step each input/output means in the data recorder-reproducer to record/reproduce the first data on/from the recording medium.
Preferably, the nonlinearly accessible recording medium is a RAID in which a plurality of hard disk drives including a plurality of hard disks are arranged in parallel.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, the foregoing object is achieved through provision of a provision medium containing a computer-readable program to be executed by an information processing apparatus including a data recorder-reproducer for recording and/or reproducing first data including video and/or audio data by accessing a nonlinearly accessible recording medium in time slots to which a plurality of input/output means are assigned, and an information controller for storing second data controlling the data recorder-reproducer which is connected to the data recorder-reproducer via a communication network. The computer-readable program includes a first step for transferring based on a file transfer protocol the second data stored in the information controller to the data recorder-reproducer via the communication network, a second step for storing the second data transferred in the first step in the data recorder-reproducer, and a third step for controlling based on the second data stored in the second step each input/output means in the data recorder-reproducer to record/reproduce the first data on/from the recording medium.